Media Response to Terror

Description

It ranked among journalism’s finest hours. That is what was heard in the weeks following September 11, 2001. They made mistakes, of course, but in covering one of the biggest disasters ever to hit the United States, journalists used their training, their experience, their understanding, and their sensitivity to provide coverage that helped bring understanding and a sense of calm to the chaos. Their performance did not end with reporting the immediate impact of the catastrophe. They continued to analyze what happened, the impact to property and human lives, the impact on government and foreign relations.

Lessons from Ground Zero’s examines journalism’s efforts to cover a crisis, while analyzing journalism itself. Many lessons were evident to journalists as they sought to cope with the challenges of covering 9/11. The long-term question, however, is whether the answers they found served as catalysts for better journalism in the future, or whether they have been forgotten, put into the closet of old memories with no noticeable long-term impact.

This book analyzes journalists’ response to 9/11 through scholarly research and interviews with many of the journalists who covered 9/11. Sometimes they do not agree, but all are thoughtful and each adds to understanding. Public opinion polls show clearly that citizens appreciated and responded to media coverage. Given that this occurred in a time frame in which public approval of American journalism had declined, it is reasonable to ask what the media did that was different from their normal practices. This book provides some of the answers.

Editorial Reviews

“Ralph Izard and Jay Perkins compile a thoughtful collection of thoughts and opinions on journalism to point out the triumphs and failures in recent years in the media. Lessons from Ground Zero is a fine addition to any journalistic studies or social issues collection.”

—The Midwest Book Review

“Lessons from Ground Zero: Media Response to Terror deserves ongoing recognition as a fine analysis suitable for any college-level social issues or media studies collection, considering journalism's efforts to cover a major crisis and analyzing the lessons learned by journalists from 9/11. Chapters also consider whether these lessons ultimately resulted in better journalistic practice, blending scholarly research with interviews of those writers who covered 9/11 in a range of media. What did media do differently in covering the crisis, and why did public approval of journalism show a decline in popularity? This gathers lessons from the event and is a strong recommendation for any college-level collection.”